Photo: Matias J. Ocner/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty
A Texas sheriff says he is opening a criminal investigation into the transport of a group of Venezuelan migrants from the Lone Star State to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, last week.
FloridaGov. Ron DeSantissaid last week thathe was the one responsiblefor sending two planes of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard in what his officetold outletswas a part of a “relocation program to transport illegal immigrants to sanctuary destinations.”
But critics slammed the move as a political stunt that comes as DeSantis is rumored to be mulling a run for higher office.
And some have questioned the tactics used to transport the migrants.
NPR reported that some migrants said they had been approached outside a shelter and lured into boarding the plane with promises of expedited work papers. The outlet further reported that the migrants weretold they were traveling to Boston.
In apress conference held Monday, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said he has opened a criminal investigation in Texas into the transport of the migrants, citing what he claimed was a plot to “lure” migrants to Martha’s Vineyard “under false pretenses.”
“Our understanding is that a Venezuelan migrant was paid what we could call a bird-dog fee to recruit approximately 50 migrants from the area around a migrant resource center,” Salazar, a Democrat, said.
The sheriff continued: “As we understand it, 48 migrants were, I will use the word ‘lured’ under false pretenses into staying at a hotel for a couple of days. They were shuttled to an airplane where they were flown to Florida and then eventually flown to Martha’s Vineyard. Again, under false pretenses.”
According to Salazar, the migrants were “promised work,” among other things.
“They were taken to Martha’s Vineyard, from what we can gather, for little more than a photo op, a video op — and then they were unceremoniously stranded in Martha’s Vineyard,” Salazar said.
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Conservative governors in Texas and Arizona have also sent migrants from their states to more liberal-leaning areas such as Washington, D.C. in recent months.
Texas Gov.Greg Abbottclaimed last week after two buses of migrants arrived at the U.S. Naval Observatory — Vice PresidentKamala Harris' residence in Washington, D.C. CNN reports that the volunteers who staff the observatory were surprised at their arrival, andhad not been previously notified.
That move came after Abbott, who isrunning for reelectionthis year, announced in April that he was busing migrants from the Lone Star State to the Big Apple.
In May, Arizona’s Republican Gov. Doug Duceymade a similar move, sending migrants from his state’s southern border to Washington, D.C., as well.
source: people.com
